Gross weight is 11.3 tons, tare weight is 7.8 tons, a 5.4 litre diesel engine. After bus use it was later used as a motor caravan.

According to Wallace Trickett: "One of my first school runs with Blue Bus Services (I was both mechanic and driver) at Masterton in 1981 was to Mauriceville about 35 km to the north east. I was given instructions and basically told the school children would let me know the stops etc. It was a very hot afternoon. Note the sliding windows in the bodywork same as in the photo.

So all the windows were open, I dropped the last child off and was returning to the depot on a narrow country lane when a milk tanker approached from the opposite direction. I pulled in as far as I could, but small rear vision mirrors were set to watch duals and skirt so could not see the top of the bodyside.

I heard a bit of scraping going on as I brushed against some foliage. I carried on into town and parked up at the pumps: as I was getting out of my seat, the manager appeared and scratching his head looked at the left hand side of the bus.

There protruding out from a window about seven rows back was a tree branch about 9 feet long complete with small branch off shoots. I had driven about 25 km like that and fortunately it being empty had not impaled a child sitting in the seat!"

This system began in 1901, reached a maximum length of 18.5 km (11.5 miles) in 1940 and closed in 1958.

At the time this was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and interestingly in the second postcard the German names (Laibach, Marienplatz) have been obliterated by overprinting, presumably nationalist sentiment after WW1. Despite this, most Slovenians still speak German as a second language.

Providing transport along the Brisbane River is a fleet of 19 CityCats and 9
CityFerries operated by the Brisbane City Council. There are 24 terminals stretching from The
University of Queensland at St Lucia to Northshore Hamilton.

The bridge in the foreground is for pedestrians. (Geoff Churchman pic)

Saturday, June 29, 2013

On 29 June 1925 Santa Barbara, California, was wrecked by a magnitude 6.8 Richter scale earthquake which struck at 6:42 am. Because of the time of day, casualties were surprisingly low. The worst damage was in the central commercial area.

Like Napier 6 years later, the rebuilding turned out to be a boon to the city with most rebuilding being in the Spanish Colonial Revival Style and today it is one of America's most attractive cities. Hopefully this will prove to be the case with Christchurch NZ also.

It's common now to see the Click It or Ticket warnings on US highways and on TV, a campaign promoted at the national level by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration - website with myths and facts

It's hard to believe now, but before 1979 women in Iran could dress as they pleased.

This is from Before The Chadordedicated to the period when the land of the former Persian Empire was a worldwide
business and pleasure destination; before the government told people
how to dress, before home became prison, before fear became part of life.

A circa 1940 postcard showing a Los Angeles streetcar with the 32 floor City Hall from 1928 in the background. This is 138 metres (453 ft) high and despite a few much taller buildings that have been constructed in recent times, is still the Downtown LA icon.

One of the better known peaks in the San Gabriel Mountains, the location of the Mount Wilson Observatory, which is named after Benjamin Davis Wilson also known as "Don Benito". Wilson, who was the grandfather of George S. Patton Jr., built a trail,
following an established Indian route, which became known as the Mount
Wilson Trail

Like most people we have wallets full of loyalty cards in both NZ and the US, but don't go out of our way to use them. In NZ the Countdown chain calls its card the OneCard and one percent cash back (in fact voucher back) is about what you get - and that would be typical with most such schemes. Would you go out of your way to save one percent? Of course not. You need to factor in your time and extra gas to go to that particular shop when you could go somewhere else closer.

Loyalty cards tell the organisations, particularly the supermarkets, what you like to buy and thus quite a lot about you. Let them know that they have to compete for your custom and that you literally shop around. Fair Go video

The first model year of the Ford Laser as a replacement for the Escort and was produced by Mazda in Japan after Ford had taken a 25% stake in Mazda the previous year. It was a restyled version of the Mazda Familia/323 and was sold by Ford in Asia, A/NZ and parts of South America and Africa. It was available as a hatchback and a notchback and came with 1.3 litre or 1.5 litre engines. In 2003 it was replaced by the Ford Focus.

With a total production of 41 units, the Norske Statsbaner El 11, a Bo-Bo type, were the most common Norwegian electric locomotive and was an important part of the modernization of the NSB and its "get rid of steam" program. The El 11 was really a SBB Re 4/4 I with another body. They were built by NEBB Norsk Elektrisk Brown Boweri og Thune from 1951 to 1961. Locomotives 2145-2150 were a variant denoted El 11b with two front windows. El 11 was a universal locomotive for passenger and freight trains and well suited for Norwegian conditions with very good handling. Three units - 2092, 2098 and 2110 - were rebuilt in 1983-1984 with dynamic brakes and magnetic rail brakes for use on the Flam Railway.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

In a remarkable change of mind from Steven Joyce's infamous attack in May 2011 on the proposal to build a rail loop underneath the centre of Auckland like those which exist in Sydney and Melbourne, the NZ Prime Minister confirmed today the Government will pay half
of the $2.86 billion estimated cost of Auckland's City Rail Link,
with the city's council to pay the rest.

The rail link will extend the existing rail line
underground through Britomart, under Albert, Vincent and Pitt
streets, then beneath Karangahape Road and the Central Motorway
Junction to Symonds Street before rising to join the western line
near Eden Terrace.

The link will double the number of tracks into Britomart
allowing twice as many trains to run in and out of the city, and
reducing some journeys by more than half.

"Road's just don't provide it, bus just can't do it. Mass
transit on rail is a critical part of any growing international
city," Auckland Mayor Len Brown said.

The first airline in the world to introduce 'pay what you weigh' fares (we're not aware of any others so far) is now fitting all its Britten Norman and Cessna aircraft with a special XL row of seats which have been made 12-14 inches (30-35 cm) wider to provide more stomach room, with more space between the seats. It seems these will be provided to those who weigh more than 280 lbs (127 kg)

Samoa Air chief executive Chris Langton told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the airline had also added a special ramp on its planes to allow for easier access for large passengers.

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All at Sea: stories of New Zealand seafarers

Narratives from interviews conducted over several years with 16 merchant navy sailors - 14 men and 2 women - who recounted their stories from the last full fledged sailing ship, the Pamir being returned to her home country of Finland after WWII to recent stories on today's inter-island ferries and coastal vessels, as well as international cargo and passenger ships which sailed to various parts of the globe. A full range of occupations are covered from Deck Boy, Engineer, Steward to Master as well as harbour pilots, union leaders and shipping company executives.

NZR Memorabilia

A fabulous new book containing many colourful illustrations of old postcards, pamphlets, posters, and a wide range of objects that have been used by the NZR and its personnel from the 1860s to the present time. Together they tell in visual form the importance of NZR to NZ and its people over the past 150 years and provides a useful reference for collectors.

Voyage to Gallipoli

Details of the troopships to the Gallipoli campaign of WW1 and more WW1 naval history.